alpha-Naphthyl butyrate carboxylesterase activity in human and rat nasal tissue.

Carboxylesterase activity in the rat nasal mucosa plays an important role in the response of this tissue to certain toxic inhaled esters. We have examined this activity in extracts of both Fischer-344 rat and human nasal tissue using the substrate alpha-naphthyl butyrate, the same substrate as that used for histochemical analysis of this activity. We find substantially higher activity in rat nasal extracts than in human nasal extracts. The Michaelis constant (Km), however, is approximately the same for both activities and is significantly less than that reported for rat nasal carboxylesterase activity using dibasic esters as a substrate. p-Nitrophenyl butyrate is a competitive inhibitor of the rat alpha-naphthyl butyrate esterase, but surprisingly has no effect on the human activity. The assay reported here should prove a powerful tool in the development of a valid in vitro nasal toxicity assay system that uses cultured rat or human cells expressing carboxylesterase activity.